In the end... it will be beer.

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Applecrew135, Nov 27, 2018.

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  1. Applecrew135

    Applecrew135 Crusader (431) Jul 18, 2012 Pennsylvania

    Another brew day is in the bag... and good riddance! I don't think I've ever had so many process break-downs on a single brew day. I should have known there would be problems from the start when I went to the LHBS for my brewing supplies.

    I'm making my annual Christmas Weizenbock, which has always been a staple and crowd-pleaser at our holiday gatherings for many years. Brewed the weekend after Thanksgiving and ready by Christmas Eve. Saturday morning and off the LHBS for grains, yeast and hops. Hit my first snag when they were out of the regular Weyermann's wheat malt. Not too much of an issue for the weizenbock, which is usually dark anyway, so I subbed Weyermann's dark wheat.

    I then discovered they were out of the WLP 300 that I normally use. So I grabbed WLP-351. Should not be too much of an issue for me because I ferment on the cool-ish side because I love the clovey phenolics. Since 351 does not produce as much banana flavor, I'm OK with the sub.

    OK, brew day... I use paint strainer bags to lauter my mash. Been doing this for quite a while now with great success. Since this brew uses a step-mash, I figured I'd lauter my grains in my 5-gal cooler, which I lined with the strainer bag.

    Step mash went very well... hit all my temps within 1 degree (and this isn't easy on an electric stove-top) and times. After hitting mash-out, I moved to start pouring the mash into the lined cooler... and it happened, Process Breakdown #1. The bag was just a hair smaller than the cooler and the elastic at the top of the strainer could not securely hold the bag in place. The bag collapsed into the cooler while I was pouring the mash, and now the liquids and grains were mixed together again.

    I recovered, cleaned up the mess, and set to try again, this time planning on only adding a portion of the mash... which I would then separate from the liquid... and repeat until all the mash was processed. As you might guess, this failed too. Cleaned up again, and then finished lautering in a smaller vessel. Time consuming, messy, and a royal PIA. Note to self: get some big-ass binder clips to secure the strainer bag in the cooler next time.

    Process Breakdown # 2: I am able to squeeze wort from the paint strainer bag using a collandar and a plate to compress the bag. I normally do this in a big bowl to catch he wort, but I had the idea of doing this directly over my boil pot to save time. Save time, it did not! As I was nearing the end of sparging, as I was pressing the strainer bag, the collander slipped and went straight into the pot, which created quite a splash of hot, sticky wort on me and the immediate surrounds. Not a nice cleanup... In the end, I did not lose that much liquid, only about a quart. It was an experience I could have done without. My only saving grace was that my wife was not there to witness...

    I salvaged the last of my wort, and proceeded to boil, got it into the fermenter w/ the yeast, and it is happy bubbling away. BTW... the beer will be a good deal darker than I am accustomed to from this recipe... but who knows what will come of it?

    So, in the end, it will be beer.

    BTW, I don't usually name my beers.. but this was memorable... so I dub thee PBW (keeping it clean) Process Breakdown Weizenbock.

    And yes, I have learned a few things here...
     
    #1 Applecrew135, Nov 27, 2018
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  2. NorCalKid

    NorCalKid Initiate (0) Jan 10, 2018 California

    Don’t feel to bad man. I haven’t brewed an extract batch in almost 10 years, over the weekend....

    *holding hand in my face

    I fuckn scorched my kettle. I blame my new Redbone Coonhound pup.
     
    #2 NorCalKid, Nov 28, 2018
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  3. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,250) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    I think a Christmas Weizenbock sounds like an excellent tradition. It is not a style I ever brewed, but I wouldn't mind drinking a few around the holidays.

    Sorry about your process breakdown. Not that it helps, but I can more or less say "been there, done that." Most of us probably have a story or two that we can relate. In my case, stuck sparges and scooping mash out of the tun was impetus for a BIAB conversion. More recently, while trying to strain my barleywine mash, the kettle insert that holds the grain bag slipped as I was lifting it -- hot sticky wort splashed everywhere, stove and counter tops, floor, my face, the ceiling...
     
    #3 pweis909, Nov 28, 2018
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  4. Applecrew135

    Applecrew135 Crusader (431) Jul 18, 2012 Pennsylvania

    Well, as long as we learn from our mistakes, we keep moving forward, right? :stuck_out_tongue:

    It is a great tradition for our family, and now that all of my kids are of legal drinking age and are appreciative of quality beer, is one that we all look forward to. My typical yield is around 30 16 oz bottles... and it does not last very long...

    Cheers!
     
    #4 Applecrew135, Nov 28, 2018
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  5. riptorn

    riptorn Pooh-Bah (1,776) Apr 26, 2018 Georgia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Residual spilled, splashed, exploding wort that was overlooked during cleanup continues to serve me as an occasional reminder of "don't-do-that-again".

    Funny how there are times when we think we did everything right and the result wildly misses the mark; then there are times when Murphy’s Law is the rule of the day yet the beer is great. (There's probably some character flaw to explain that.)
    I hope your PBW turns out awesome and makes the recollection and telling of the fiasco more enjoyable.
     
    #5 riptorn, Nov 28, 2018
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  6. chavinparty

    chavinparty Zealot (653) Jan 4, 2015 New Hampshire

    Speaking of I fd up moments when I brewed a few weeks ago in freezing conditions outside (cause i like brewing that much.). I had left The tubing I attach to my wort chiller Discharge outside for a few weeks but figured wtf It was slightly above freezing by then turned on the water supply and watched the tubing blow up like a baseball sized water balloon and explode into steamy water vapor. Luckily no water in the wort and I live close to a hardware because 5/8 tubing was the one size I didn’t have. Could have been worse but it scared the shit out of me
     
    #6 chavinparty, Nov 28, 2018
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  7. Applecrew135

    Applecrew135 Crusader (431) Jul 18, 2012 Pennsylvania

    Speaking of which...

    We had a very early hard freeze last week (12 degrees) when overnight temps usually hover just around freezing. Knowing this was coming, I crawled underneath my deck to disconnect my outside spigot and drain the line, which would otherwise shatter. I then promptly forgot about this when the temps rebounded a day or two later.

    When I pulled out my chiller to set up, I suddenly remembered I had to reconnect the line... and because it had rained heavily the night, got muddy in the process... LOL.

    Gonna permanently disconnect the line for the winter in a few days when it dries out a bit. I guess that makes this brew day a true Trifecta....
     
    #7 Applecrew135, Nov 29, 2018
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